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Soul Strut 100: # 37 - David Axelrod - Song of Innocence

I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 37 - David Axelrod - Song of Innocence

Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.

About

Song of Innocence is a 1968 album by David Axelrod. The album was inspired by Songs of Innocence, a collection of poems by English poet William Blake. An Allmusic review describes the album as a "suite that blended pop, rock, jazz, theater music, and R&B" and has "withstood the test of time".[1] Axelrod's integration of funk breakbeats, orchestral arrangements, and psychedelic melodies foreshadowing 1990s dance music.[3]

In 1969, a subsequent companion album, Songs of Experience, was released. Sometime after that in the 1970s, the Song of Innocence album was re-released as Songs of Innocence.[4]

Great LP. I prefer Experience, but both have a totally unique, brilliant sound. It's a pity he began to lose this signature sound a few LPs later when it became a bit too generic-fusiony for my liking.

finelikewine"ONCE UPON A TIME, I HAD A VINYL." http://www.discogs.com/user/permabulker 1,416 Posts

Seriously ignored when released.
I have never figured out who was buying this.
Did not fit any genre. Marketed toward a rock psych market, but far too orchestrated for those folks. Much too jazzy for easy listening, too easy listening for jazz.

I have never figured out who was buying this.
Did not fit any genre. Marketed toward a rock psych market, but far too orchestrated for those folks. Much too jazzy for easy listening, too easy listening for jazz.

Think I remember reading that Axelrod was given the opportunity to make/release this as a sort of pat on the back for making the label shit loads of cash on previous productions, so Im guessing it was a total vanity project with neither the record company or Axelrod having a particular market in mind.

Great record which im glad to say i own an og copy of. Creeps the untrained ear out. Bought it on ebay, never saw it in the field, except for top dollar displays at record fairs which dont really count as the field imo. I dont think many 'crate diggers' were up on this before it was sampled by - most notably - dj shadow iirc? Also the kool g rap flip on 456. Another thing shadow deserves credit for - sparking worldwide digging frenzies for records he blew up which are now considered to be definite grails.

Yes - you're right, and so was the source for shadows 'midnight in a perfect world'.
At least tell me im right about Shadow being the first to use Axelrod?
Actually I think Fat Joe's 'Bronx Keeps Creating It' was earlier still - does that make Joe Fatals production the first high profile use of an axelrod sample?
Can anyone shed more light on this?

Yes - you're right, and so was the source for shadows 'midnight in a perfect world'.
At least tell me im right about Shadow being the first to use Axelrod?
Actually I think Fat Joe's 'Bronx Keeps Creating It' was earlier still - does that make Joe Fatals production the first high profile use of an axelrod sample?
Can anyone shed more light on this?

Show & A.G. "Check it out" was before that I think. And I think the Artifacts remix with Busta was before that??
Shadow wasn't the first.

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